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Sunday, 9 October 2011

ROSE-COLOURED STARLING at Sallyport

Juvenile ROSE-COLOURED STARLING in Rens garden at Sallyport!

As there was no sign of the Upland Sandpiper by 08.30, I thought I would check all the fields at the back of me garden. For my effort, I got 3 Blackcap, 5 Chiffchaff and 7 Snipe. Just after 09.00, Hugh Pulsford had relocated the JuvenileUPLAND SANDPIPER in fields at Borough Farm. I arrived to find the bird showing well in a weedy field, before it got up and flew around and landed in the bulb field next door. Here it performed superbly, walking up and down the furrows, and as you'll see in the video below, at very close range.

Bryan Thomas

Juvenile UPLAND SANDPIPER at Borough Farm

A juvenile ROSE-COLOURED STARLING had turned up at Sallyport this morning. At 15.30, I was going to town to do some shopping and popped around the corner to go and have a look at it. Looking over from the Garrison wall opposite the Dutchy Office, we could see that the bird was on show at the top of a large Buddleia Bush bordering Rens Garden. It soon flew off towards the garden of Highdown. Here it showed very briefly in an apple tree, flew overhead and then I picked it up, on call, deep in a thick shrub next to where we were all standing. Could we see the bloody thing? We saw the ass end of it fly off in some direction and I gave up and drove home. Climbing Telegraph Hill, on the radio came 'GOSHAWK over the airfield!' I stopped at the top of the hill and started scanning with others, towards the airfield. Who ever saw it came back, after being bombarded by everyone asking questions about the hawk, and said that it might of come down in the pines near the chickens. That's Parting Carn and with birders scrambling to get in the back of me wagon, we raced down the road. However, after half an hour, except for a male Sparrowhawk, which was not it, we saw nothing. Am I ever going to see Smoothies Goshawk?

A RED-BREASTED FLYCATCHER and another juvenile ROSE-COLOURED STARLING were on St Martins and on St Agnes there was a cracking male RED-BREASTED FLYCATCHER in the Parsonage

Please take a look at Nigel Wheatley's website

It's about the best birds and other wildlife in the world, and the best places to see them, and is illustrated with many world-class images. Click on the Southern Elephant Seal, taken on South Georgia by Alice Perry.

JOHNNY CASH and me!

This was taken over 20 years ago when I went to see the Highwaymen at the NEC Birmingham. JC is the one on the right!